uncronopio wrote:From Italian serraglio: enclosure, padlock, also from Latin serare to lock, from Latin sera a lock or bolt.

Above all In Italian it means: "a fenced group of wild animals". And "barricade"; or "buildings of the sultan's residence": we can find this last meaning by the Vanvitelli's huge construction in Neapel: it's called "L'Albergo dei Poveri": also pejoratively known as "Serraglio".

I see now that the first and the last meanings maybe have a different etymology: 1. (a fenced group...) [Dal provenz. serralh, che è dal lat. tardo serracülum, der. di serare 'chiudere']. 2. (building...) [Dal turco saray].